There's a saying I've seen online about worksheets which states "if they understand it, they don't need it. If they don't understand it, it won't help." Given that worksheets are often either easy busywork, or impossible frustration, there's not much inherent value aside from seat time in as far as giving them out to students. Those who want to learn will power through them, and those who don't certainly won't gain anything out of them. I was reminded of this truth today during Lego Camp watching the fourth and fifth graders work with the Lego Move iPad app.
On a normal day in 12th grade, I'm usually forced to spend a good deal of time reviewing instructions and demonstrating technology to avoid incessant questions later on. I find I have to think about everything that can possible confuse a student and explain it in advance to avoid issues, otherwise the students will simply quit and go back to doing nothing. Even with all my planning, some students still find ways to get confused....which has led to me to feel that for some, teaching is simply impossible if students aren't willing to learn. I was worried today as the elementary students started using the iPad Movie Maker app to film their projects. I figured that even with my explanations, they'd find ways to get confused or mess something up. If it happens with seniors, it's surely going to happen with 4th and 5th graders.
But...it didn't happen. It turns out that when students actually want to do learn how to do something, they don't let anything stand in their way. After a brief five minute demo of the app, all the students were quickly to work putting their movies together and not a single group quit, complained, hit a wall, or got frustrated. While I walked around the room and helped them with some minor details, I was amazed at how they were able to push through problems and find features I hadn't even shown them in order to get their projects done. Not every video was perfect, and not every group was great with the app...but everyone at least tried. They failed at times, but learned from the mistakes and bounced back. There's obviously a lot of differences between the elementary school kids and the high school seniors, but I'd wager that elementary school kids, when excited about a task, at least try harder than their high school counterparts.
Now yes, it's true that building Legos and making movies is probably more fun than putting together a project on Beowulf but even so, I think today's encounter shows a lot about the futility of explanations and the importance of intrinsic motivation. If students want to learn how to use an app or make a movie, very little will hold them back. If they don't, very little will help them. The trick, of course, is how to get students motivated about something that they just don't want to do...
On a normal day in 12th grade, I'm usually forced to spend a good deal of time reviewing instructions and demonstrating technology to avoid incessant questions later on. I find I have to think about everything that can possible confuse a student and explain it in advance to avoid issues, otherwise the students will simply quit and go back to doing nothing. Even with all my planning, some students still find ways to get confused....which has led to me to feel that for some, teaching is simply impossible if students aren't willing to learn. I was worried today as the elementary students started using the iPad Movie Maker app to film their projects. I figured that even with my explanations, they'd find ways to get confused or mess something up. If it happens with seniors, it's surely going to happen with 4th and 5th graders.
But...it didn't happen. It turns out that when students actually want to do learn how to do something, they don't let anything stand in their way. After a brief five minute demo of the app, all the students were quickly to work putting their movies together and not a single group quit, complained, hit a wall, or got frustrated. While I walked around the room and helped them with some minor details, I was amazed at how they were able to push through problems and find features I hadn't even shown them in order to get their projects done. Not every video was perfect, and not every group was great with the app...but everyone at least tried. They failed at times, but learned from the mistakes and bounced back. There's obviously a lot of differences between the elementary school kids and the high school seniors, but I'd wager that elementary school kids, when excited about a task, at least try harder than their high school counterparts.
Now yes, it's true that building Legos and making movies is probably more fun than putting together a project on Beowulf but even so, I think today's encounter shows a lot about the futility of explanations and the importance of intrinsic motivation. If students want to learn how to use an app or make a movie, very little will hold them back. If they don't, very little will help them. The trick, of course, is how to get students motivated about something that they just don't want to do...
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